Stamkos joined his teammates on the ice Thursday at Tampa Bay Times Forum for the morning skate and said his right leg feels as good as it has since he broke it in November.

"I thought [Thursday] was the best it's felt," Stamkos told reporters. "That's a positive. Every day I've gotten on the ice trying to get a little better each time. A lot of it is physical but a lot of it is mental as well, trying different things that you can trust the healing process is taking place. … I have never had an injury like this, but I'd like to think that I'm ahead [of pace in recovery]. I'm feeling good. I know I'm not 100 percent, but it's getting there."

Stamkos broke his right tibia when he fell into the goal post during a game against the Boston Bruins on Nov. 11 and he had surgery the next day. Just over 10 weeks later, he's taking about return dates and keeping an eye toward playing for Canada at the 2014 Sochi Olympics. He was named to the team's 25-man roster on Jan. 7.

Stamkos has said he'd like to play in at least one game prior to going to the Olympics. After their game Thursday against the Ottawa Senators, the Lightning have seven games before the start of the Olympic break.

"February was a target date," Stamkos said. "We've got a couple of games before the break and I'd love to be able to come back and play."

Stamkos said he isn't 100 percent yet but is hoping for good news when he has an X-ray taken Thursday.

"Hopefully all is good [with the X-ray] and we can keep progressing," he said.